Holy crap! Where do I start? How about this. I danced with Dan Deacon last night. Yes, I can't believe it either. Maybe I should start at the beginning, always a good place. I had heard that Dan Deacon shows were unique and unforgettable, but I had heard some of his songs and wasn't too impressed. Electronic, dancey, that sort of thing. But. But. I have been listening to some tunes from his upcoming album in "Bromst". They blew me away. Deacon has expanded into soundscapes of beauty and pleasure, truly mindblowing. So an underground show at Serial Space in Chippendale had me intrigued. By the end of the night I was floating on a sea of bliss.

Serial Space is in a bleak section of town. A small door leads to a room that appears to be part of an old warehouse. The room is small with cement floors and a pole in the middle. There is no lighting or air conditioning. Yet, it is somehow appealing. A million miles from corporate rock, which is very comforting. Dan was sitting in a corner of the room, listening to the support act. He was wearing an undersized blue Flintstones T-shirt and black shorts and sneakers. Not rock star looks, but just who he is. Which is a man to see live before you die. A man of the people. A man that is hugely entertaining and full of the grit of life. His stage was a long desk, loaded with small beaten up decks and keyboards and a iPod shuffle supplying the base of the music. He introduced himself and said the small crowd, about a hundred people, were going to have fun and dance themselves into oblivion. That was the key. As most of the songs were older ones, they were not especially great, except for the hypnotic "The Crystal Cat". But it was the fun, the fun. The movement, the social interaction that made this such a memorable night.

I would be writing for a day to explain all the things we did, so I will try to be brief. At first we partnered up for a dance. But I had no one, so Dan was my partner. It was a mirror dance, where the object was to repeat the moves of your partner. I was dancing with Dan, before a late comer entered the room and I switched to be her partner. Then we formed two circles and danced around the room during "The Crystal Cat". We also had a dance competition where we all had turns to dance in the middle of the room in any way that we desired. The best though was the human bridge, where we formed a row of arms to pass under and kept extending it until we were out on the street and Dan was left alone in the room. Insane. Then he closed with "Silence Like The Wind", where we posed in a kind of opera singing mode and pranced about the room. I know, it sounds silly, but it was so much fun. That was to be it, but we pleaded for one more. He played "Paddling Ghost" off the new album. Such a great song, as was "Red F", played earlier. Trust me. "Bromst" will blow you away. What a memorable night. Fun was the object of the night and it was achieved with emphatic results. Deacon is a man of immense humanity, giving and funny. Warm and engaging. This night is stored in the memory bank.

Set List
Okie Dokie
The Crystal Cat
Red F
Snake Mistakes
Lion With A Shark's Head
Wham City
Silence Like The Wind

Paddling Ghost